shift of political allegiance meant that the dominant british forces in the region were faced with the threat of attack from the spanish philippines to the east . britain dominated the east indies in 1796 , controlling the trade routes through the indian ocean from the ports of bombay , madras and calcutta . dutch ceylon , the dutch cape colony and parts of the dutch east indies had been captured in 1795 , and the french presence in the region had been confined to ile de france and a few subsidiary islands in the western indian ocean . some of the most important trade routes began at canton and macau in qing dynasty china . early in each year a large convoy known as the " china
shift of political allegiance meant that the dominant british forces in the region were faced with the threat of attack from the spanish philippines to the east. britain dominated the east indies in 1796, controlling the trade routes through the indian ocean from the ports of bombay, madras and calcutta. dutch ceylon, the dutch cape colony and parts of the dutch east indies had been captured in 1795, and the french presence in the region had been confined to ile de france and a few subsidiary islands in the western indian ocean. some of the most important trade routes began at canton and macau in qing dynasty china. early in each year a large convoy known as the " china